Frugal Rules

Trying to Time the Market? Missing Just a Handful of the Best Days Can Tank Your Returns

Advocates of buy-and-hold stock investing make a strong case as to why it can be disastrous for a novice investor to try to time the stock market. It’s been shown that frequent trading generates higher fees, and that emotional trading leads to buy-high, sell-low behavior. Also, every time you trade an individual stock, you’re betting … Read moreTrying to Time the Market? Missing Just a Handful of the Best Days Can Tank Your Returns

Questions About Credit Scores, Account Security, Philosophy Books, TIPS, and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Divorce mediation difficulties 2. Importance of credit score? 3. Fearing money stolen from accounts? 4. Move to city or not? 5. GnuCash 6. … Read moreQuestions About Credit Scores, Account Security, Philosophy Books, TIPS, and More!

Short-Term And Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates By Income

If you need more incentive to generate passive income in order to give yourselves more freedom to do what you want, then look no further than the below two charts. The short-term capital gains tax rate is equivalent to your federal marginal income tax rate. Once you hold your investments for longer than a year, … Read moreShort-Term And Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates By Income

Will the 4 Gift Rule Work for Your Family this Christmas?

Every year, parents struggle deciding what to get their kids for Christmas. It can be challenging to find or even afford the ‘perfect’ gift. It can also be easy to lose sight of your budget when you’re out shopping. When that happens, you come home with considerably more than your kids need. I like the 4 … Read moreWill the 4 Gift Rule Work for Your Family this Christmas?

An Alternative to The Benjamin Franklin Schedule: The “Task Immersion” Schedule!

An Alternative to The Benjamin Franklin Schedule: The “Task Immersion” Schedule! Alright, for those who never liked the Benjamin Franklin “scheme” we’ve posted about over the years (wake up at 5 am, reflect, hustle, repeat), here’s an alternative that might suit your personality better: The “Task Immersion” Schedule This was sent over by a reader … Read moreAn Alternative to The Benjamin Franklin Schedule: The “Task Immersion” Schedule!

The Fight for the Right to Repair: Why It’s Getting Harder to Fix Your Own Stuff

Major technology manufacturers have been making it increasingly difficult for the average person to repair the items they produce. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, it’s us consumers who demand every new generation of smartphone be faster and lighter than the last. That doesn’t happen by magic. It takes fancy screws, special adhesives, … Read moreThe Fight for the Right to Repair: Why It’s Getting Harder to Fix Your Own Stuff

Connecting Money Management and Time Management

I’m going to share the gist of a conversation I had with a reader a couple of weeks ago. This reader, who I’ll call Tonya, agreed to let me share the gist of the conversation but not exact quotes, so much of this is going to be paraphrased, and I’m attempting as best as I … Read moreConnecting Money Management and Time Management

Netflix vs Hulu: Which Service is Better?

We cut the cord on cable three years ago. We were paying $105 per month to keep DirecTV around and knew it was far too expensive. When we canceled DirecTV, we looked at Netflix vs Hulu to determine which service we wanted to use to replace our content needs. Three years later, we’re saving over … Read moreNetflix vs Hulu: Which Service is Better?

Friendships and the Financial Turnaround

Back when I was at the peak of my foolish spending days, I had a set of three good friends that I will call Manny, Moe, and Jack. The four of us got into a routine of going golfing after work at least once a week and golfing together each weekend. We were also part … Read moreFriendships and the Financial Turnaround

Chase Travel Portal Moves to Expedia: Now What?

Chase Ultimate Rewards has long been considered one of the most valuable rewards currencies available, and for good reason. Not only can you transfer Chase points to popular airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio if you have a premier Chase travel credit card, but you can also cash them in for gift cards, … Read moreChase Travel Portal Moves to Expedia: Now What?